Interviewed by Lee J. Phillips, 1973 Joe Letendre (pronounced “Letan”) was eighty-seven years old on January 9 of 1973, and was born at Lac St. Anne. His mother was Christine Belcourt and his father was part French. His wife was a daughter of Adam Callioux. She did not speak English, and she passed away at… Read More

The Chetwynd area is in the foothill country of the Peace River District. Half a century ago it looked like it had since the world began, except that a few white men replaced the Beaver and Cree Indians that roamed the valleys hunting and trapping. Beginning at East Pine, the end of the wagon road… Read More

Interviewed by Lee J. Phillips, 1973 Mr. McLean is now (1973) 73 years old. His birthday is in August and he was born at Sturgeon Lake, Alberta with a Scotch father and Cree mother. Mrs. McLean is 83 and was born at Lac St. Anne. Her father was a Callioux and her native tongue is… Read More

Interviewed by Lee J. Phillips, 1973 Cross-posted: 18-067: Arnold Munch of Chetwynd Mr. Munch is sixty-seven years old [in 1973] and was born at Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. He left home in 1931 in a covered wagon and accompanied by another family by the name of Hofstrand. Some of these folks are still at Montney, B.C. They started… Read More

Interviewed by Lee J. Phillips, 1973 Mrs. Desjarlais was born in the Grande Prairie area sixty-nine years ago. Her native language is Cree, although she is not a treaty Indian. Her father and older brother were well known by the first trappers or people of the area. Her father was a Calliou born at Lac… Read More

Interviewed by Lee Phillips, 1973When we called to talk awhile with Mrs. Nicholson and tape a conversation, we found her quite well at eighty years old still a good hostess. She made us a nice cup of tea. She was born in Saskatchewan, but moved with her husband and four children — all under the… Read More

By Ruby Stevenson, 1973 “FLOODING OF THE MURRAY RIVER TAKES EIGHT LIVES” — This was the headline of the local paper on March 25th, 1939. The sudden flooding of the Murray River at East Pine during the early morning hours swept away the home of Mr. Wellington M. Warren, carrying eight persons to their deaths… Read More

From an interview with Mrs. Jim Allen, 1973 — by Lee J. Phillips The Allens decided to move to Little Prairie as the Hart Highway was nearing completion, and a great need for accommodation for travelers was apparent. This was sometime in 1952-1953. They chose their location at the foot of Mount Wabi and on… Read More

By Lee Phillips from an interview with Eric Logan After spending several hours with Eric Logan at his home on the north shore of Moberly Lake, I’ll endeavor to put in writing some of the history of people in early years from Moberly Lake, East Pine, Pine Valley, and the Sukunka Valley. Although their trappers… Read More

By Dorthea CalverleyChetwynd is the dominating commercial centre of the Pine River valley. In spite of repeated assertions of the local press to the contrary, none of the great early explorers — Mackenzie, Finlay, or Fraser — ever saw its site. Mackenzie recorded the Moberly River, tributary of the Peace, but did not ascend it…. Read More